Update from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Annual Meeting

Last week I attended the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Annual Meeting (ASAPS), which proved to be very exciting. Experienced doctors from across the country, including myself, lectured on various hot topics including fat grafting and the roles stem cells and acellular dermal products, such as Alloderm and Strattice, play in the procedure. My favorite talk was by Dr. Barry DiBernardo on Cellulaze, the new Cynosure device for long-term cellulite improvement. I also enjoyed Boston dermatologist Jeff Dover’s presentation on the amazing results of Bella Contour, a new body-contouring product. I had the pleasure of sharing my expertise on the skin tightening procedures Sciton, SkinTyte, and the new Ultra Shape as well as co-chairing a session on laser complications with Atlanta’s Dr. Foad Nahai. I also filmed segments for The Plastic Surgery Channel on laser resurfacing and cellulite. ASAPS further ignited my excitement for future innovation and advancements in plastic surgery. I have a number of upcoming meetings with companies interested in testing new products and am eager to see what this year holds for research.

Body Contouring Market Trends 2009-2013

With rising rates of obesity, particularly in the U.S., North America will see a surge of interest in the body contouring market over the next few years. As the demand for body contouring devices increases, more plastic surgeons will adopt these technologies into their offices.

BusinessWire.com predicted the upcoming trends in the body contouring market from 2009 until 2013. With new and existing companies delving into new innovations, such as laser-assisted liposuction (LAL) and cryolipolysis, there will be a higher frequency of body contouring devices available to consumers.

The recession will, however, have a slight impact on the body contouring market growth. With a reduction in disposable incomes, patients will forego or postpone these elective procedures as a way to conserve cash. This will cause many surgeons to have a limited amount of revenue to invest these new devices that can cost upwards of $100,000.

While there was a decline in device sales from 2008 to 2009, Millennium Research Group assumes there will be an economic revival recorded for early 2010.

Cynosure launched SmartLipo MPX in the U.S. and Canada during the second quarter of 2008. SmartLipo MPX was the first dual-wavelength LAL device available in the market. Another big launch in the end of 2009 was CoolTouch’s CoolLipo, Palomar Medical Technologies' SlimLipo, Syneron's LipoLite, Elem Medical’s SmoothLipo and Sciton's ProLipo PLUS.

In addition, UltraShape’s Contour 1 was the first transdermal ultrasound device available in Canada. In 2009, Medicis received Health Canada approval for LipoSonix, which has had difficulty getting FDA approval. When transdermal ultrasound devices become available in the U.S., perhaps they will grab a hold of the body contouring market. Zeltiq cryolipolysis device has been available for off label fat removal since last summer. In many practices (including ours) it has taken off and provides consistent, safe non-surgical fat removal.


Furthermore, growing obesity rates and the more desirable results from body contouring devices suggest that there will be considerable market growth over the next few years.